Changes under moonlight
by WrittenAvarice
Summary: After a vicious attack involving a manic depressive Gohan and a beast of unknown origin, gohan's life is gone from bad to worse. But when the people around him start dying, he starts to learn the horrifying truth.


Note: If you like this story, I'm working on a sequal, along with an Alternate Ending to this one. If you would like to get this Alt. Ending, E-mail me at I'll send it to you with my reply.

Diagnosed Manic Depressive. Not by any doctor, but convicted in the eyes of the others. Though they never spoke a word, though I could feel their uneasiness, and I could see their sad faces, depression. And even after they left, I would always get their sad faces stuck in my head; they've never looked at me the same way after that fight so long ago. Waring with my emotions while at the same time, battling an ant. I was a Titan compared to him, and I could have killed him, I could have destroyed him with one burst of erratic energy, but I taunted him and toyed with him like he did his victims. So vile, so inhumane were my intentions, trying to decide whether to tear him apart limb from limb, or just blast pieces of him away until there was nothing left but a tired surrendering being devoid of all hope.

But it was to be the death of my father; I was to be the death of my father. I watched as he disappeared, vanished into thin air, smiling and waving his final goodbye. His final image burned into my memory, never letting go, but rather digging a dark pit right under my skin and into my heart. Corroding it and letting the black pieces of rot fall on the roof of my stomach. It was sickening.

I did so much to cause Cell pain, and in the end, felt more pain than I had ever had. Irony hits hard on someone that age, someone like me. Especially when the irony leaves you fatherless, and on your way to tell your mother that you were the cause of death. And when we finally lose hope of recovering those lost happy memories, those days without fear, hate, anguish, we are to be pulled back away from the negativity by those we love and cherish. But there was no one there…

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Rain trickled down from the sky above. It fell onto the small roof of my house and fell right in front of my window. But as it fell, it pulled other drops of rain towards it; I couldn't help but shed a tear. So envious I was to have something magnetic to keep me together and willing to live, keeping both your reason and sanity in tact. So much for that.

I opened the window and climbed out. My jogging pants snagged on the window frame and a final jerk tore it away, letting me plummet to the ground. And suddenly, the harsh cold revealed itself to me in rapid bursts of cold rain. I loved it though, the feeling of cold on my warm skin; it reminded me shortly that I was human, and that I was also human, a self-tormenting, empathetic, bastard child. Some things needed to be reminded from time to time, and being a living breathing being was one of them, but so was the fact that there is no life without pain.

I found that I couldn't stay in that house a second longer; especially with the two people that I tore their happiness from. I knew that Goten didn't understand, didn't comprehend that his own sibling had taken away his father. Poor Goten.

Then there was my mother. Her pale skin only grew paler at the message from my father, read by the condemner of death himself. Me. I could barely finish it before I tore away from her, crying uncontrollably, shaking, and hating myself for it. She was so loving, though, in time, we grew apart. Conversations of the past became insensible phrases. Eventually I became a mute to her, save for the occasional "Good morning" or "Good night."

It soon became unbearable to be around anyone. So I shut myself from all contact except from my little brother. He still doesn't understand, but he shouldn't, he's only three. But he is so much like his father. The smile and unkept hair passed down in perfect sync. His personality is a bit different though, he's shy. He barely talks to the others; it seems that we have that in common. But that's not what I wanted of him. He should _NEVER_ be like me. I don't think I could live with another manic depressive copy of myself. I'd rather die, but then I'd die for any cause as long as I was dead. Life just wasn't worth living.

I pulled myself off of the wet ground and stood straight. My hair was instantly matted against my head, and my body became wet and cold. And even though it seared my warm skin, I didn't feel it, not in this train of thought, thoughts of long forgotten happiness. It didn't matter; there wasn't anything that mattered any more to me. If I got hurt, I shunned the pain and held it in. Some say that it's not healthy, mentally. I agree, but it'd be hard to see my reason, but I was doing everything I could to become insane. Whether it was mentally scolding my past mistakes or the mistakes awaiting me in the future, I was always downcast and loving it. I figured that if I were to become so lost, that I'd lose myself and drift through the darkness of an unaware mind. I would never be alone as long as I was unaware.

My feet led me down the same path that I had taken every other night when I couldn't sleep, which was often. There was a small trail that had been worn from my steady passage. But I needed to leave; sometimes I would lie about for hours before finally falling asleep, only gaining about two or three hours asleep at night. Eventually, I learned to give up. It was so hard the first night; I was so scared that my mother would catch me, and then we'd have to communicate. I always felt off-set around her and the others. I guess it was because I see Him in their eyes. Their last memories of Him and how I stole Him away for my own satisfaction, my own lust for revenge. It was a bloodlust that had possessed me that day. I just wish that things could have turned out for the best.

I felt the cold grass and dead leaves crack under my feet, and I occasionally lost my way in my own thoughts. I'd recall my eventless day and wonder why I was put here on earth. In truth, this isn't where I felt I am supposed to be. I felt apart from everything but my forest haven. My calm walks in the dense dark forest. The lonely dragging of my feet, and the whistling wind rising and falling in unpredictable changes. This was my Eden, my Heaven, this lonely darkness that nuzzled me in a cool embrace and kept me chained into existence.

And then came a sound, too sudden to react upon quick enough, a roar. I turned a second to late and before I knew it, I was pinned to the ground. I struggled and squirmed to move. I pulled my right foot free and kicked it square in the chest. My heart raced, adrenaline was set into my veins in short bursts of liquid fire and I acted.

I quickly gained my footing and stared at this attacker. This beast was unlike any I'd ever seen. Thick brown fur, a wolf's face on a body built like a monstrous bear. Only its stomach was thinner, holding the muscles one would see on a body builder. It had broad shoulders and a set of deep black eyes. It reared its head back and roared again savagely, baring its teeth coated in saliva. I could actually see a small hint of satisfaction in its features.

Then, in a blur of fur and claws, I was thrown around like a rag doll. I felt its sharp claws dig into my shoulder as it hurled me into a thick tree. My body smashed into it and I slumped down to the ground. I couldn't catch my breath, I couldn't breathe. And as I struggled to stand, I felt it pin me to the ground again. I wouldn't be getting away this time. I was already weakened. How had this being bested me? The strongest being alive, or so they say. How pathetic I felt…

I saw its head rear back and come down right on my neck and shoulder. Stabbing pain rang through my body. I could feel the sharp teeth opening deep wounds. I could feel my blood seeping from my veins and out of my wounds. And I could feel my consciousness fade away, like the end of a soft melody.

And then a most peculiar thing happened. I heard my voice, commanding me. Screaming at me to fight back, I wasn't going to let this be the end. If I wanted it to end, then I'd do it myself! _Stop this foolishness, you damned child. Fight him! FIGHT HIM! KILL HIM! _

And before I knew it, my right hand had shot right through its chest. "You'll be the one to die!" It was frightening to hear myself say it. But it felt so good to say it. And suddenly, all of my regression, self-hatred, pain, all of my being turned outward and onto this now defenseless creature, held up only by my fist in its chest.

I grabbed its beating heart and sent a definite surge of energy ringing through the beast's body. I felt its heart explode in my hands, and I felt this being fall limp on my wounded body. And after it was all said and done, I struggled to push it off, and then in a daze, I looked at my hands. They were full of blood, some mine, some _His, _but most was mine. It ran from my open neck and down my shirtless torso and down my arms. But how did I know that the being was a _He? _A guess, maybe…

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I staggered to the pond nearest to me, which wasn't so near, but it was closer than the other two. I could almost smell the water. The universal element of life, a beautiful thought considering the fact that I was dying. And yes, I was definitely dying. When that monster bit into me, it severed several arteries, and I knew right then that I wasn't going to make it. But then wouldn't it be a pleasure to feel my life slip away, under this stunning full moon. Under these immaculate conditions. The sky crying to wash away my own tears, along with the blood seeping from my wounded body. It did seem perfect.

I reached the pond and fell to my hands and knees. The sand stuck to my skin as I lay down in the freezing cold water. But it wasn't cold any longer. It became warm, and sad. This death I was experiencing was nothing like they say on TV or in books or even in fairy tales. It made me happy, this warmth made me smile for the first time in so long. But then why shouldn't everyone die happily?

I shut my eyes and listened to the water ripple in my ears and lapping against my face. I felt the sand enclosing around my wounds, burning me, and then the water would wash it all away. It would wash away my pain, my blood, my life. Perfect.

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I could hear crying, a small child sobbing in this palace of darkness I had found myself in. "Hello?" I said, moving toward the sadness. And in the darkness, I saw the silhouette of a small child. As I drew closer, I noticed that this small white child had gorgeous blonde hair. His hair was cut just under his eyes. A mop top, like I was back in the happiness of my childhood.

He looked up at me and I gasped at the sight. His eyes were filled with a deep onyx that stared right back at me, while shocking me at the same time. "You think that this is the end of your pain? It's only just begun." He held a soft British accent. His eyes filled with tears and then turned a bright luminescent blue, and he disappeared. I was baffled by how fast he faded away, nothing like my father. He just blinked out of reality, but this definitely wasn't reality.

As I stood in this infinite darkness, I wondered if this was my dream world. Was this the darkness that flowed without direction? Was this my floating non-existence? Or was this purgatory, the ever-growing Christians believed in this place. A place where your soul was imprisoned to purify you and prepare you for Heaven. But I didn't want Heaven; I just wanted to cease to exist. This wasn't my dream, this was my punishment.

I could hear more crying, familiar crying. I should have known who it was at the start. I had heard her crying for the better part of four years. I knew my own mothers cry. I had started it all. I had endured it from the moment of my depression, every night, until now. But even here, in this comfort and void darkness, her cries could be heard. But what if she was here? No. But if she was, I'd have to find her…

But I couldn't find her. I searched for her, called her name, and screamed at her redundancy. For hours it went on, and all I could do was fall back and draw my knees close to my chest and cry myself. "Stop." I whispered through my gasps and tears, holding my hands against my ears. I gripped them with such a force, that my fingernails found their way into my skin. "Stop… Stop… STOP!"

I pulled my hair and screamed at the continuity of my situation. And it only got worse. Soon my brother had joined in. "WHY WON'T YOU STOP? Please stop." I pleaded. My throat was sore and my eyes burned. My body felt tired and sick, then cold and empty. I wanted, so bad, to leave my attended cell and hide inside my mind. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't find my way into my dreamland.

I held my ears shut and dug my nails in the back of my head causing it to bleed even more. And then, in all of my pain, came a thunderous wave of shock. It knocked me into something very large but soft. Another wave came and I felt the excessive pressure squeezing the air around me, making it hard to breathe. And quite suddenly, I couldn't. I could only watch as the invisible force caught me, time after time with no pattern or warning. And soon after it started, it stopped, and the darkness fled the room. Like a shadow in a dim light growing brighter, the darkness fleeing into the cracks and corners of the small room. "He's waking up! Get your mother Trunks!"

My mother gripped my sides and forced me to look her in the eyes. "Stay awake, do you hear me!" I nodded. She looked desperate, more desperate than I had ever seen her. I couldn't find any words to explain the delirium I was in. And even though I couldn't think straight, I found myself confessing to what I had seen. About her and Goten crying and crying and crying. I told her about the pain and anguish I felt. And I told her about my guilt, how I always saw Him in their eyes, and begging her to forgive me. But my voice was so hoarse, and I was speaking so fast, it all just sounded like gasping and nonsensical phrases blundered into an infinite confusion.

My chest burned as I gasped for air in between jumbled sentences. But she only consoled me, not listening to an unrecognizable word I said. She held me close and gripped me with a force that would have killed any normal child. But I was glad she was there, I didn't want to be alone. But none of my dreams were to be fulfilled.

I pulled her close to me with my bruised and battered arms and sobbed on her shoulder as Bulma entered the room, stethoscope in hand. To my dismay, my mother was pulled away from me immediately. She backed away passively watching Bulma press the cold metal tip against my bloodied chest. She flashed a small light into my eyes one at a time and checked my heart rate.

Even though I was said to be "alright", I had to stay for at least one night, for observation. I didn't object; I was too emotionally stunned by my predicament and mentally confused by the fact that I wasn't dead. _How am I alive? I know that it wasn't a dream. How could I have felt that attack if it was a dream? And what of the wounds I'd received?_

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The wounds I'd had when I woke were almost gone now. I was only awake two hours. I couldn't believe my eyes as I stared into the mirror at my neck. Only a few dark circles were left where I had been bitten, little coal dots.

Eventually, I tore myself away from the mirror and slowly made my way downstairs. My mother and Bulma were sitting across from each other; not talking, just sitting down enjoying a small cup of decaf coffee. I sat right next to my mother and laid my head down on the hard wood table.

I knew that she was smiling. She stroked my hair as I let my mind rest for the first time in what felt like for ever. I felt so relieved, so at piece in that moment. And though my I felt tired, I still had to ask. "So when do we get to go ho --

-- Screaming was all that I heard. I lay wounded on the cold dry ground, my mother only a few feet away from me, bloodied and gasping for air. "MOM!" I screamed. Her neck bled profusely, I knew she was dying. But I didn't let myself believe it, I didn't think that I could handle it. I grasped her arm and pulled her close to me, my tears blurred my vision. I choked a few unrecognizable gasps as I held her to me. Her cooling skin against my torn skin hurt horribly.

She gripped my arms and held them far from her neck as if I'd been choking her. Her blood ran all around us as I cried, as she screamed. It was unbearable to hear her like this. I felt pain burning in my chest, I felt it stinging my eyes, and I felt it tightening around my head. Everything had pain, most were different, but they were all searing.

I could tell of my pain when she looked up at me. I could tell of the pain that came about when she pulled me closer. But nothing hurt more than to hear her last words. "I love…" She whispered that haunting fragmented sentence right in my ear, and it broke my diseased heart.

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The funeral was unbearable. Everyone was there; I didn't make any eye contact with anyone. I just stared and stared at the coffin, nothing could take my eyes off of it. And as it was during my "death", it was raining. Life showing it's presence during a mourning of death. How ironic.

I held my little brother before me. He stood, choking up tears, in his black tuxedo Bulma had rented him. I had one exactly like it; mine was bought for my dad's funeral. But his didn't have a body. I guess that's why it was so hard this time. My mother, dead, only a few feet away, sleeping soundly. Her wounds were fixed up at the morgue. I bet most of her face and neck were reconstructed. But to see her there, in the deepest of all comas, the one that holds no hope of returning. It drew tears like a leech draws blood.

And when they finally lowered her body into the ground, I started to cry in the weirdest way. Without emotion, I shed tear after tear after tear, but my stomach was fed up with my choking. My features were that of a bothered young man, my stature was, at the very least, strong, but I was crying. No sound, no deep inhalation, nothing but tears.

And when all was said and done, we were left alone; my brother and I. Bulma was waiting in her car. I pushed Goten towards the car, and he went willingly, occasionally stopping to look from me to the coffin and back to me. "Go on. I'll be there in a second."

I waited until he'd gotten in the car before making my way to the burial site. The chairs had been removed, the grievers were all gone, it was just my and my… I wouldn't really know what to call them. Family?

My knees found the ground about as fast as my hands found the metal railing around the hole. "I'm sorry." It was Piccolo. I felt my hands grip the metal railing. "I'm so sorry." The railing cracked, and then twisted. "If there's anything I can do." The railing broke.

"Where were you?" It was a horrible thing to say, especially to a friend. But it felt right. If one can read minds from a long distance, and sense trouble, how could one not feel death?

"It doesn't work that way. Not with something like this. Something so…"

"Small. Insignificant. Redundant. This was murder, and I… I can't take my anger to the murderer. I can't take my revenge, I can't even stop him."

We were quiet for a while. I had nothing else to say, nothing else to feel, but hatred. It wasn't for them, but I was making it seem that way. "I'm sorry, I'll leave now."

"Gohan…"

"No! No. You can't help me, I can't be helped. But promise me, promise me right now. That If I die-"

"Don't say that!"

"Protect Goten."

I left him standing there. I apologized once more and then announced my departure. "I'm sorry." Again, I couldn't find myself to stop apologizing. So I walked away, and with each step, realizing that I was walking right into the most dangerous self-hating, depressive, inner malice that could be mustered.

I opened the car door and Goten had apparently cried himself to sleep. That gave me and Bulma time to speak in private. Vegeta had flown here, and he flew back. I was at least grateful for that. It was about time that he'd done something sympathetic, even if it seemed as if he didn't want to be near Bulma, who indeed, began spilling information.

From what I knew, we were orphans now. And according to Child Service's laws, orphans couldn't house themselves or live without a guardian. No matter how smart, strong, reliant, or mentally stable they were.

"If you want, you could stay with us. We have too much room as it is and wouldn't mind at all." She was being honest as she wiped the many tears from her eyes. I agreed that we would stay, until I found some way to go back home and raise Goten on my own. I thanked her, and I thanked her again afterwards.

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The ride "Home" was short and without sound after our discussion, save my brother's crying. He'd awaken right after our agreements and instantly started crying. Nothing obtrusive, but enough to gasp for air every now and then. He'd made me start crying.

I was told before the funeral about what happened that night. Her first words were (And I'll never forget them) "You are no longer your normal self." She told me that I had cut my mother off by spastically screaming and tearing myself from the table. I convulsed several times before lying still. And while I was quiet, they could hear a sick squishing sound followed by rapid cracking.

"Your skin turned black and then you started to change. I didn't have time to watch, I had to wake Vegeta. Your… your mother ran to find your brother and Trunks. And when I returned, there was chaos everywhere. Your… your… other form tore at everything, destroying everything around it, It even tore into it's own skin."

"And in the midst of this chaos, your mother tried… she tried to stop you from hurting yourself. And in the end, she… (She held back tears, though struggling as she continued.) Died."

The story ran itself over and over in my head, but I couldn't remember any of it. And as I fell asleep that night, I kept hearing that strange child repeating himself to me, over and over, and over. Then he'd be quiet for a while before starting himself again.

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I dreamt about things I'd never dreamt about before. Open fields stretching only a couple of acres before reaching dense forestry. And from there came screams. People screaming at each other, warning each other. "WEREWOLF! WEREWOLF!" They screamed.

I was suddenly being chased. Villagers of the forest were shooting at me, and I ran… on all fours. I thrusted myself into the air and latched onto an oak tree and roared at them. The shock stopped the villagers and gave me time to jump right over the small group and run in the other direction, towards my prey. They shot round after round, but couldn't really aim in the darkness of the forest.

"HE'S GOING FOR HER!" they screamed. But before they got there, I had her. This black haired beauty, her skin was pale and she was unconscious. I bared my teeth at them and felt their fear fill the air. I took in their fear and watched their many faces. Horror played itself over and over depending on how fast I looked at one face to another.

I held her close, they weren't about to shoot at me with her in the way. But something managed to pierce my back, and I soon found myself covered by net upon net. The beauty had fallen from my arms and fell to the ground, still unconscious.

I watched them carry her away, but some stayed. They grabbed sticks and stones and started beating me. I actually felt their blows, I didn't have enough strength to throw off the net and defend myself, but I had enough to take each attack. At least, until one of them slammed a rock on my back.

It hurt so much, my furry skin was covered in drying blood and small missing patches. My body became sore and I couldn't have been happier to hear screaming…

Roaring and sounds of gunfire filled the air, but I couldn't see properly through all of my nets. Two of the five strands were covering my eyes. But they were soon torn off, and not by another werewolf, or any murderous villager, but by her. She stood there in her white pilgrim dress, her hand extended to help me up.

I hadn't even realized that I'd changed again, but I did. So I took her hand and stood and she clothed me with a thick blanket. She held me close and then grasped the back of my head, forcing my ear to her mouth. "It's going to be alright."

It wasn't alright. People lay in quarters of themselves, torn to pieces by some unknown force. One man's body was impaled on a short, sharp branch of a nearby tree. Another's body lay in flames next to a broken lantern, which also burned. Everywhere was death, but it was alright, it shouldn't have been.

She let go of me and put her bloody hands on my cheeks. I hadn't reeled back in disgust, I hadn't even flinched, but I did take her in my arms and kiss her. I did hold her like a lover would, like a lover should. Then she faded, leaving me with two bloody cheeks and a sore heart. I quivered a little, then forced myself to stop. I hate my dreams.

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"Gohan! Wake up!" Goten was shaking me, screaming. I shot up in the small be and glanced at him. "What?" I yelled. I was becoming accustomed to awaking to total chaos. It seemed to be a defect of my destiny.

"I thought you wouldn't wake up again." He said, small tears fled his eyes as he held my shoulders. "I didn't want you to be like mom." Recent wounds instantly reopened. This time I held my tears and just pulled him closer to me in the small bed that we shared that night.

"No, I won't. Please, just don't cry." I held him close as he cried himself to sleep. And I followed soon after. Utter loneliness and abandonment didn't though.

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2 Years Later…

My time with the Briefs' was any thing but short. There were no loopholes in the social security system, and as usual, I gave up. And now, I stalked towards the Orange Star High School. I reread Bulma's note over and over until I reached the school.

I won't be home when you get

back, so you'll have to get

Vegeta to open the door for

you. Sorry.

It wasn't anything dazzling, just something to keep me from having to look up at the people that passed me. People that I didn't, and would never want to know. And it would have been that way, if someone hadn't rushed right into me.

She fell right to the ground. "I'm sorry." I said it as sincerely as I could. I helped her up and picked up her school bag. "Really, I'm sorry." I apologized, and then I looked up at her as I handed her her bag.

Her light skin had some darker tent to it, but the rest, the slender shoulder, bright blue eyes, and long, luscious black hair was like I had dreamed so long ago. Her face was even the same. But I found myself asking the same question that everyone asks someone who looks familiar. "Do I know you?"

My mind was racked with this mystery. And it was like this throughout the day. She was in my first three classes. I always sat at the back right corner, no one sat near me. I guess it was better that way, I always felt off center around crowds. Bulma had given me something to stop the instinct of my new body from doing what it wanted. Often times it would feel as if it was dying of hunger when I was near more than a dozen people. Then, in the midst of this hunger, I would find myself fantasizing about gruesome deaths and feeding off of those around me.

My "Condition" was scientifically diagnosed. Of course there were no cases like this, and the scientific name, _Lunarcytosis_, was made up by myself. But without it, I wouldn't have these pills Bulma designed to put my nervous system to rest. It slowed down instinctual reactions to situations just enough for me to realize what was going to happen. Thus, giving me time to react properly.

They did, however, make me less active than I usually would be.

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It was lunch. I sat alone, of course. I had a couple of people try to talk to me, get me to come sit with them, and I turned them down. They were all immature girls of course.

And as soon as I knew that they were gone, I pulled out my small cylinder container. It held my medicine of course.

I felt it work instantly, my shoulders weren't as tense as the often were around people, and I became a normal person again. Without the medicine, _Loctracinisine, _I would not even be here. By the way, I also named that as well.

"You're not allowed to have any medical substance on campus."

I looked up to see that dark haired beauty once again. She stood with a scowl in her long T-shirt and blue shorts. I capped the container and handed it to her. "Trust me, I need it." I said, not taking my eyes off of her.

"You have to have it registered with the office, come on I'll take you." She was so inviting. And the problem with her plan was simply that were on the opposite side of the school from the office. Too many people to pass. So I declined, telling her that I'd do it tomorrow since we only had two hours left of school.

"Alright, well, my names Videl, and I'm school president. So if you need anything, just ask me." I liked her, she didn't sound like she'd be school president. She sounded more like she was giving me Need-to-know information.

And just as she was walking, the side effect of the medicine kicked in. My heart rate shot into triple digit heartbeats per second. I clutched my chest with one hand and tried not to cry out. A second reason that I sat far away from everyone else, along with my unsettled emotions towards groups of people surrounding me. Besides the fact that I just wanted to get through this year without any conflict or uncomfortable situation.

I held my head low and then heard her gasp. "Oh my god, are you okay?" She was shocked to say the least. I nodded, knowing that if I opened my mouth, I'd scream.

I guess that she didn't want to push the issue, but still she stood there. I managed to push the pain away and gave her a verbal assurance. "Don't worry, just a little chest pain."

She reread the bottle and then looked back at me. "_Lunercytosis, _sounds serious." I smiled. "You have no idea."

She handed me the small bottle and with a smile, she left.

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Gym. This was a class that I hated. Not only was I packed around with thirty other people, but I had to participate. Today's game was Dodge ball. And I tried my hardest to get hit, but there was a problem. Every time someone threw a ball at me, instinct would tighten alert my nervous system and I would dodge. I couldn't help it. It came as fast as a normal person would jerk their hand away from a hot pan.

Eventually, I started to fight back, throwing with minimal force. The impacts still left bruises though. And when I had just started having a good time, I went too far.

Roget, a young blonde kid with dark brown eyes through a center shot. I didn't have time to dodge it consciously, my spinal cord shifted to the right with a sickening crack, and my body bent far beyond human limits. Then as it shifted back, pain gripped all of my insides and I collapsed. It was only for a second, but some managed to catch that unnatural performance.

I was lucky however, that Mr. Viacci, the gym coach, said that it was a move that he had seen in his days as a high school "Jock". Obviously, he had been lying, but the announcement seemed to calm everyone down a bit. I guess there is such thing as luck, cause I would have never been able to explain it.

"Gohan, can I have a word with you for a second?" He asked. I nodded, and as I followed him to his office on the other side of the Gym, I noticed someone who had known that my action wasn't normal. That dark haired girl from lunch. Such a cliché, in a modern romance novel, it was to actually dream of someone before meeting them.

The coach opened his office door and led me in. It was a normal white interiored office. Two filing cabinets pushed against the far wall, one desk with a computer and computer chair. And two seats opposite of the desk. "I don't know what that was out there, but please, please don't do that again. I don't want you getting hurt, and that did look rather painful." He chuckled a little.

His door was slightly open, and someone was standing way to close not to be eavesdropping. I could smell her sweat as she tried not to make a sound. I gripped the door and shut it the rest of the way with my finger tips.

"Which brings me to my other point, you don't seem like the social type. And the way you were playing out there was definitely professional. Have you ever played sports in any other school or…"

"Fighting. I train in martial arts." I was lying, I never really trained. Not anymore. Besides, me being what I am, I don't really have to train. My body holds little to no fat and I haven't been sick once in the last year. I steadily find myself getting stronger and stronger, though minimally, after my changes.

He seemed to be thinking; he relaxed and sat back in his chair, his hand running over his goatee. "You know, the World Martial Arts Tournament is coming back this year. And if you want, I know someone who could help you train, a sparring partner of sorts. Her name is Videl."

"I'm sorry but I don't think that would work out very well. I couldn't –

"Well," He cut me off, I hate that. "How about this. What if you just meet her at her the Gym down on Fourth St. and go a round or two with her, then decide. And trust me, she'll be there. From what I see on a near daily basis, she's an excellent fighter."

He wrote the address down despite my objections and when he offered it to me, I took it grudgingly. "Thanks." I said, pocketing the small sheet of paper. And then I exited his office, just as the bell rang.

I walked slowly toward the Gym. The people walking today weren't bad. In fact, there were only two or three people that passed near me. But there was someone following me. They'd been following me for a while now. And instead of speeding up like a scared woman in a horror flick, I slowed down.

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Whoever was following me, was steadily gaining on me. I glanced back and there she was. _What is with this girl?_

"Hey!" she yelled as soon as she saw me. _Damnit!_ I turned and let her catch up. "Some game earlier huh?" She was being passive. Slowly trying to lure me into telling her more about myself and what happened earlier. But then again, maybe I was being paranoid.

I didn't answer her, Hell, I didn't even know her. "My names Videl." I stopped. Now I knew. "And I heard that you need a sparring partner…" She motioned for a name, waving her hands in small circles. I guess she doesn't like to wait.

"Gohan." I announced quickly. She didn't respond afterwards. _God… Just start a conversation so we can get there faster! _"So you… Fight?" She nodded. Her smile was cute and played nicely with her features. As a matter of fact, there wasn't a single curve out of place. She had the body of a healthy woman, not a fighter. For a second she reminded me of my…

"So what brings you to West city? Cause I know your not here because of our lovely economy." Hah. Jokes. And to clear things up, West City was a city of expense. Everything was drastically over priced, causing a drought in profits all around. And since this was an extremely large island, it had its own electric and water companies. Monopoly spread throughout as much as poverty, but that was in the downtowns. I'd never been there before, never had the impulse to go.

"No, death in the family." I mentally slapped myself. How could I have been so stupid? I left to go home, I needed to be alone. And as I left, all of the memories of my mother kicked off at once. I could barely control myself as I stalked in the opposite direction of her. She must've thought it was something she said. Sorry, Videl.

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Videl sat in her room. Her computer was humming trying to keep up with her as she railed on the keyboard. She sat at her computer desk in a pair of light blue jeans and a large white shirt. She dressed like that almost every other day.

She smiled as she accessed the computer system to the police files. Since she was a volunteer law enforcer. The computer itself was a gift from the Police Department for her help. She let one of the other officers take it home and modify it with a wireless router. The kind schools and libraries use. It would have cost her two hundred bucks, but he wouldn't take her money, he said it would be his gift of thanks to her.

She read aloud what she found.

"Gohan, Son. Age: 17. Father mysteriously disappeared, soon after was said to be deceased. Mother, deceased. Cause, severe lacerations to the throat and stomach. Said to be an animal attack. Gohan, as a witness, (Along with other witnesses) described the same scenario."

She shuddered a bit._ Poor kid._ Then she read on, though the rest was just trivial information.

"Social security number: 4738492115. Medical conditions… None?" She sat back for a second, and then returned to the screen. She tapped a few keys and soon the computer hummed louder and then stopped. "Medical conditions: None." Blinked over and over.

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I saw her knock on my fourth hour classroom door. The teacher reluctantly left her post and opened the door. "The office needs to see Gohan."

I got up without having the teacher call me. My legs sped me past all of the students that watched me pass, all the way down and out the door. "Please follow me." She said seriously. Videl. She seemed angry almost. Oh well, I needed a break from learning things that I have already learned.

Halfway there we stopped and she stared me right in the eyes. I couldn't help but look away and start off towards the office. She was probably mad at me for just ditching her yesterday. "Wait." She grasped my arm. My instincts were going mad. Vegeta had stopped me like that once, he had been yelling at me for not training. I could sympathize with him. He had no one to train with. Trunks and Goten were only five, and I wouldn't train at all.

I grabbed his arm and slung him right into the Gravity Room. It was instinct. And I hated how it controlled me. But this time was different.

I pulled away, a simple human gesture, and it caught me so off guard. But I could hold my surprise for later. "Are you an addict?" _WOAH! Where did that come from?_

"No. Why? Are you?" That was my response. Shaky and definitely unbelievable, that's the only way to describe how I sounded. Her conviction was very sudden.

"No. And don't try to change the subject. I know that you haven't been registered medicine by any doctor in the area. And there is no disease called _Lunarcytosis._ So there isn't any medicine for it." She had a point.

"Trust me, I don't know how to explain it, but if I was on drugs, wouldn't I seem _too _relaxed or tweaked out? What about steroids? Do I look like I have a watermelon head?" She laughed. "No." I knew that she wanted to stay serious.

"Just trust me, and if you don't, go down to Capsule Corp. and talk to Bulma Breifs. She diagnosed me and gave me my medicine. And they do work."

She seemed to believe me, but I'd know soon enough.

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Three knocks. She didn't believe me. It was her. I knew it was her because I flew home and was waiting for her on the couch in the living room. Goten and Trunks were about to be home soon also. They were to be the ones that let me know that she believed me. Because, no one would wait an hour to prove another wrong. That's not how society works now a days. I had hoped she'd believe me, but she obviously didn't.

She knocked twice more and I moved to answer the door. I turned the small round handle and waited for her shock. "What are you doing here?" She said in surprise. I couldn't help but grin. "I live here. And you have trust issues." That smile set itself across her face again, and it was exactly like I remembered it.

She came in as soon as I asked and we made our way out to the back yard. Bulma was tending to her small garden. I gave the introductions and soon we were just… talking. We sat around enjoying the day and Bulma insisted that I tell her how school was going.

Then Videl mentioned that tonight was to be a full moon. She had a project that she had been working on. She was trying to find out how fast the moon was turning. She explained her hypothesis and how she was to proceed with her experiment, but I wasn't listening. Not any more.

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Videl left about an hour ago. I could still catch her scent. Smell, touch, sight, they all became better and clearer when there was a full moon approaching. And I dreaded it. Although I couldn't stop it, I could feel the process quite acutely. And it was excruciatingly painful.

But first I had to wait until Goten and Trunks were sent to bed. I don't think I could bear having them know. Bulma and Vegeta were the only ones who knew. And as much as Vegeta idolized his Gravity room, he never once disagreed on my using it for these horrible nights. Just as long as I didn't break anything.

I crossed the cool grass swiftly, it was almost 8:00 and I didn't want to wait any longer. As I entered the GR my stomach started to quiver. This was a warning that time was almost out. I hit the close button and the door automatically locked. It wouldn't open until sunrise tomorrow.

My skin felt like it was being invaded by a million invisible ants. Then, the first surge of pain radiated from my chest. I could feel the after pulse building up in my chest and all I could do was try to block it out. I knew that eventually the pulsing would be in perfect sync with my heart. And the more pain, the faster the pains came.

Soon my body was on fire, internal organs searing the as they brushed past each other. They rearranged their selves according to my eventual anatomy. And I gnashed my teeth through it all.

I watched in a stupor as my skin blackened due to the heat emanating from my internal organs. And as it blackened, it hardened. I could only say that it was the equivalent of being roasted alive, and surviving.

I could feel my bones breaking apart into thousands of shards and tearing screams from my closed mouth. I held my stomach as tight as I could, hoping that it would all end soon. It didn't. And I knew it wouldn't.

The bones and structures in my face were broken, smashed by the muscles collecting around them. Then reforming, they would seal themselves back into a more wolf-like appearance.

I could feel my muscles in my stomach tighten, and those on my arms and legs swell. And lastly, my nails fell off and through my fingertips burst sharp claws. I roared with pain. But quite suddenly, there was none. There was only the blue eyed beast, staring back at it's reflection in a stupor.

I stalked the sides of the GR over and over. I pounded on the door over and over, until my transformed hands started to bleed and my claws dug into my palms. And with one final attack, I rammed it head first. A sickening crack was heard and soon after darkness.

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Videl tapped her pen anxiously on her desk. Gohan was nowhere to be found. But, she planned on running over to his house later anyway. He still never announced whether he would or wouldn't need a sparring partner. The World Martial Arts Tournament was coming up soon, and she herself hadn't found a sparring partner. Well, a worthy one anyway.

She had been training all year to get a chance at beating her father. She had even doubled her training, using weights twice as heavy as the last ones. She ran with them on and even when she was just walking around outside or even in the house.

Her father had stopped training with her cause he had apparently tapped into some new method of training, and she was dying to find out if she could even compare herself to him.

The bell finally rang and she was packing up her note book when Sharpner approached her desk. With him was Videl's best friend, Erasa. "Hey, what happened yesterday?" She asked.

Suddenly remembered that yesterday was Erasa's party. _How could I have forgotten._ "Sorry, I was at Capsule Corp."

Sharpner shifted and scratched his foot with his left leg. "That new kid lives there, huh?" She nodded. Erasa gave a confused look and then shook it off. "What new kid?" She asked. Videl shouldered her backpack and stood from her seat. "Gohan. Tall guy with black hair. You know you've seen him." She declared.

"Oh, him… He's cute," She said grinning. "Yeah, that and he also does Martial Arts." Videl said in a Matter-Of-Fact tone of voice.

"You think he's any good." Erasa asked.

"Well, if he's as good at fighting as he is at dodge ball, then Videl better watch herself." Sharpner said before turning and heading out into the hall.

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I couldn't feel my head or my stomach. I always felt like this after changing forms. It was just nausea and depression rolled up with a side of numbness that ran through my days after these horrid changes.

I was back to normal… almost. The wounds I'd inflicted on myself trying to get out were still healing. My hands which were full of deep bruises and my shoulder blades which were torn about furiously from me trying to cradle myself. The claws I had were horrendously sharp. Sharp like a scalpel. I hated them.

During this time, I would just lie in the GR until the healing process was over and I could move again. No one was home, the boys were at school, and Bulma and Vegeta were almost always gone when days like this occurred. They left mainly because of Vegeta. Staying home would mean that he would be tempted to just move me out of the room and cause further damage. I knew this because it happened once.

It was the first time that I had used the GR for this special reason. As soon as daylight in through the small window on the door, Vegeta burst through and chucked me out. And during this transaction, didn't care that he tossed me naked out onto the back yard grass. Blood erupted from my wounds without seeming end. God, the pain it caused. And since then, it's always been best for me to just let the feeling die away and the wounds heal.

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Two hours later, which was around One-Thirty, I started getting feeling back into my stomach. The nausea went away and my mind started to straighten out. If there was one time throughout the entire transformation, just lying down peacefully, even through the nausea, the peace of mind was almost exhilarating. It was like a drug really, and as the painful healing process died down, so did the peace of mind. It left me wanting more and more, waiting for the chance to have that feeling again, but soon the addiction fell away also, it was only temporary.

I stood slowly, gaining balance, and walked over to the small compartment on the far off end of the GR. In it was a pair of blue jogging pants and a fairly big T-shirt. I only needed that to get inside without drawing attention to myself.

I slowly tapped the control panel and then when the door opened thanked the heavens above that my other half wasn't computer-wise.

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I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard knocking. I pulled on a pair of boxers and the blue jogging pants from earlier. They weren't dirty or anything, I just put them on to get inside. I looked at myself in the smoggy mirror and saw an unkept being devoid of any future without pain. Deep sorrow.

I shot down the stairs and through the living room and to the door. Two more knocks. My hand turned the knobs and my eyes met hers. "Hi." I said awkwardly. I was standing half-naked in the door way and couldn't think of any other words to say. "Hi." She said, just as awkwardly I might add.

"Do you want to come in?" She nodded. I told her I had to run upstairs real quick for a shirt and that I'd be right back down. She was compliant. I mean, I'd hate to think she'd argue about it. That would definitely be unladylike.

And when I came back, with a plain white T-shirt (From earlier), she asked the oddest question. "What are those tattoos for?" My first response was- Huh? But then I noticed what she was talking about. The oversized bite mark. In a way, they did look like little round tattoos. "No… these are from an accident. They just never healed. So what'd you come and see me for?"

She played with a small trinket that was on the living room table. Bulma had gotten it from Rio when she was sight seeing. This was before she met my dad. It was a small plus sign with a guy stapled to it. I guess Rio was a tough place. It was later that I found that it was a called a crucifix and was worshiped.

"I wanted to ask you if you still needed a sparing partner. Cause I do and I really don't care how good or bad he or she is." She said. It was blunt and plain and right to the point.

"Well…"

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I tried my best to act like I was weaker than I was, but it was like it was with dodge ball. Instinct always took over, today it was just a little weaker than I. Even though both of me were constantly at war, we were totally exhausted from our more previous battle. Lucky her. I blocked when I should have struck and took as many hits as I could. If I could explain how hard it was to control it, I guess you'd have to pour steaming hot water on your hand and try and stop that same hand with your other hand, from seeking something to cool it down, or shaking. Simple as that.

When we finally stopped we were both sweating profusely, it was to be expected. And it wasn't even from exertion, it was from me trying not to hurt her, but all the while fighting my preternatural reflexes from dodging to fast. I knew I'd be doing this once or twice a week. It was absolutely wonderful to feel like this. Like I was finally overcoming my weakness and my strength. I think in America, it's called Empowerment.

She threw me a towel and we sat down at a nearby table. "Finally, I thought you'd never stop." I said. And it was true. This workout was harder than any I'd ever done. "Can't wait 'til next time." She said. "When do you want to meet up here? Cause I was thinking every two days until the Tournament starts." It was a good idea but the tournament was at least three days long, after sorting the fighters. And I couldn't take that chance.

"I don't think I'll be going this year. Besides, I'm more of a spectator, to shy to perform." I knew that she would fight with me. And I guess I found that attractive in her. And the inner shell is exposed.

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I left mentally and physically exhausted by both her fighting with me and her fighting with me. And as I walked closer and closer to my home, my body tensed, my muscles tightened and my ears started ringing. The hair on the back of my neck stood all at once. Basic instinct telling me I wasn't alone.

I turned to my left, this street led to the downtown area. Something was there. And suddenly, that something fled. And I was after it. Soon I realized that it wasn't a human or animal that I was chasing. It was like me, and I'd never sensed another like me around here… Ever.

I shot down the street, all exhaustion rose from my body, and I soon saw that it was a man. No older than myself, well, maybe just a little. Dark brown hair, muscular, and he held the same scent as myself. He was a werewolf, definitely. He was way faster than any human. And this knowledge only made me push for more and more speed.

This chase went on for at least thirty minutes. And in this time, I pushed past dozens of people, jumped over countless fences, and was starting to where out. And soon, we entered a small patch of road with nothing at the end. On one side was empty space, and on the other was a thick patch of forestry. He went into it without a second thought. And I followed, determination pressed into my mind.

"Wait!" I found myself screaming and yelling this every so often as we dodged trees and patches of sticker bushes over and over. If I hadn't known where we were heading at first, I knew it when I saw a large mansion-like dwelling. I couldn't help but slow to a walk and stare in awe, and then a thick heavy scent of "My Kind" came from all around me.

I was thrown right into the dwellings large front yard. I caught the ground with my hand and twirled myself into the air. I stayed there. It was the first time I'd flown to keep away from an attacker in a long while. This creature was beautiful. Like other werewolves, it had the same structural features, only its coat was Calico. Orange and brown and black colors arranged in an order to which they never mingled with the others, except the eyes. The eyes were also black. Just like that kid's.

I brought myself back down. "Wait!" I said raising my hands unobtrusively as it reared to attack. Flashes of images and feelings tore into my mine. And I understood them. I shook my head. She was asking if I was a threat. "No. In fact, you're the only ones like me that I'd ever seen."

She (and yes this creature was female) glared at me for a long moment. Then she dismissed herself as if she'd lost intrest and turned her gaze to what was more important.

A strong male voice came from behind me. "What about the one who attacked you?"

There on the porch, eating an apple stood an auburn haired man, mid thirties or early forties. Strong body, and tanned skin. He came down the stairs gradually. And as he did, I turned back to the werewolf to my right.

"I killed him. It was the same night that he attacked me. All I know is that I think that he was a small child." I blurted it in defense. But strangely, there was noguilt, noemotion.

"Well, thank you for solving one of our many problems. Diego _was_ a bit of an Anarchist." He eyed me behind a small pair of sunglasses. I couldn't see his true colors. "Always attacking people whenever he wanted. Please, come inside. I'd like a chance to get to know you a little better."

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Inside of this monstrous home, was like walking into a false home set up in a furniture store. Brown furniture and lighter brown wall-paper. Wooden coffee table, dozens of magazines were spread out on it. A small vase with roses was all I smelt throughout the entire home. He sat on a couch and I chose the one opposite to him. Everything was modern, but still comfortably simple.

"Sorry you had to be brought into this in such a…" He waved his hands as if passing a phrase for another, "spastic way. It truly is my fault and I take full responsibility. Diego was supposed to be _taken out_ years ago, but I couldn't kill him. He was my younger brother. You understand, you have a younger sibling am I correct." He was.

"Yeah, but how did you---

"I know a lot about you. I've had Der, the guy you chased twenty-four miles just to get here, follow you around for a while." He grinned and stole a glance behind me at Der, although it was subtle, I still caught it. "We knew that Diego had made another one of us and we just try to keep the poison in the jar, so to speak. But enough about that, It seems to me that you, Gohan, have a problem that I might be able to fix.

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I stayed at that house that night. Jerry, the owner, said it wouldn't be a problem; it was the other two who had the problem. Dashyll and Desna. But I'll get to that later.

Music from the band "System of a Down" blared from the living room surround sound system. The band had originated from Armenia and made their political comments through their songs. "Pushing little children, with their fully automatics", and other phrases concerning the bombing of Armenia in the 1900's were thrown in along with nonsensible comics such as "Terri cutter pie." They sang about American problems in the past also, such as Charles Manson in the song ATWA.

The air in the house was a mix of different foods from a Cajon cookbook that lay helplessly on the island in the kitchen. Spices mingled with a variety of meats and vegetables, topped of with a mix of salt and pepper.

The lights were on in every room; it seemed that in this house, everyone was a night person. And I couldn't help but feel a little tired, it was around ten and I was used to going to sleep at eight. It seemed to be that when you suffer enough, insomnia rises from your mental dysfunctions.

"The mutt's about to pass out Jer. Maybe you take him for a run." Der yelled from the kitchen. His dark brown hair was longer than it was when I first saw him. And his skin was much darker. But then it could be that he was standing in a dimly lit kitchen.

Jerry came down the stairs which were situated behind a large thick entertainment center in the living room. "Well, maybe I should have had you do it earlier, to bad you're the only cook in the house." He yelled coming down the stairs. He had to yell. The music was apparently too loud.

"You ready?" He asked me as he passed to go outside. I had no idea what he was talking about, a run? "Just come on." He said, then turning back towards the kitchen, "And tell Desna when she gets out of the shower that we'll be back later.

I didn't know if he knew that it was raining, or even if he cared. And as he took off his shoes at the door, and followed by his socks, I couldn't help but think it funny. Usually it was the other way around with most Japanese folk. But this American, and he and the others are definitely American, had gotten the gesture all wrong. But who was I to judge others habits?

I followed his ritual and took off my own. Then followed him as he made his way into the forest surrounding the entire house. They had a small path that ran through it, a driveway maybe, I hadn't seen any cars. But in all speculation, they could be in the formidably large garage.

"Okay, the trick is not to scream or go back. Once you start, don't stop, if you do then you'll experience more pain than you could imagine. So good luck." He watched my expression change from wonder to "Say what…" then laughed heartily.

"Nah, I'm just joking. You do know what you look like in your other form right?" I nodded. I had to watch it once a month for the better part of a year, and the inside of the GR was metal and unpainted. I knew my fur would be jet black, my teeth straight and sharp, and my eye's would be a cold blue set of sapphires, surrounded by black pigmented irises.

He told me that I should just keep my mind on that mental image and when I felt the tug of change, let it go. And I did, and it happened. There wasn't as much pain as there was when I was fighting it, but there wasn't any definite comfort. My structure changed, my skin became burnt and it was the same as any other time. But afterwards… afterwards there was control. I was no longer tired, or raging mad, or even uncomfortable.

"Good first try. Just give me a second and I'll show you around."

It was so sudden, the way he changed; barely any time was wasted on pain and screams. It was as if his body just jumped right to the point. And before me, was a dark red werewolf, almost like dark fire. His eyes were different from mine, being that they were pitch black. There were no other colors that you'd expect to find in there. And as soon as I noticed them, I stared into a small puddle of water to see that mine were the same. Interesting. The cold blue stare wasn't there anymore. It was just a memory.

I stretched a little, listening to my cracking bones mingle with the rain fall. I scratched a couple of uncomfortable clots of fur from my back and then stood on my hind legs. I was trying to adjust to the weight and gain my balance. And soon after, we were off. Darting through the forest. It felt so good to be in control. But my happiness was bound to fall into despair… it always did.

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I guess you could say that I was an addict. I stayed at that house for the better part of three days. I never slept, because I never had to. Changing from my original half saiyan/human form to my other form, would indefinitely put my other half to sleep. I remained conscious, but as I stayed in this abominate form, my mind replenished itself. And it truly is easy to understand. While in my more primal form, my mind worked at two percent, while the other eight percent (which would be the rest of the brain consciously usable to the conscious mind) rested.

My thoughts of uneasiness, about staying, left me as soon as I changed back. It was like a shade melted away by the sun. I didn't want to leave, and as I soon found out, they didn't either.

"You can't leave." Desna exclaimed from the kitchen. Standing next to her, dicing a couple of green tomatoes was Dashyll. He stayed out of the conversations before and he stayed out of them now. It was just his thing, he'd listen and listen and calculate very carefully. Then, he'd come up with a solution. If the conversation was of conflict or decision. Otherwise, he was in it, sarcasm streaming sentence after sentence.

"She's right. And it's not why you think. Now that you can control your changes and most of instincts, they're your responsibility. And their easily triggered. Even something as harmless as a nightmare could put your body through the change, and you wouldn't feel it in your sleep."

Jerry stopped and took a sip of scotch that he'd made himself. He winced at the horrid taste, and then continued.

"Just think. One night you're asleep. Bad dream and you change." He snapped his fingers. "You wake up, and in the inevitable panic that would consume you, you accidentally kill someone." Instant thoughts of my mother.

"No, I've got to go back. You don't understand. My little brother has _no one._ I'm all he's got." Sudden faltering voice. An unexplainable feeling of detachment from them rose after. "And he's all I've got. I'd be abandoning him if I left him. And that would kill him. Ever since my fathers death, all I'd felt was abandonment, and I won't let it happen to him."

Jerry's mouth opened a little, but he decided to hold the thought.

"I say, let him go. Maybe you can do this peacefully. Say your good bye's and then, when you're ready, come back. You can only do damage. And you don't want that. Besides, it's not like you _have_ to stay away from him, you just can't stay with him anymore. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to see your little brother, but there's no reason why you should put him in danger."

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I walked through the front gate. Instead of just opening the door, I knocked. I felt like I was ten again. Knocking on the door to Capsule corp. awaiting my big journey to outer space. Poor sad memories.

Videl answered it. "GOHAN!" I heard my little brother scream. He came running into my arms. I could feel his happiness, and soon after, another little whelp came pummeling into me. Trunks. The two were all smiles, and I had no good news to reward them with.

But first I had to get rid of… "Videl? Can you stay here while I talk to Bulma in private?" She was sitting on the couch. At first she gave me a glare laced with "Where have you been?" It was strange to read her thoughts, or rather her feelings. But I wasn't thinking of that at the time. After she saw the look of hurt in my expression, she knew something bad had happened. Or rather, was about to happen.

We were in her office. She kept the door open so she could peer into the hall, just in case someone wanted to eves drop. I really didn't care. All I cared about was somehow getting her support on this. I told her everything about what had happened, except the location of the house. For that part, I told her that I'd be in contact. I'd be around as much as possible. Her only question was whether of not I would be happy. And I told her that this wasn't about me, it was about Goten.

Then came a something unexpected. "What about school?" I shrugged.

"I guess I will still be going. I just don't know right now." I honestly didn't. "But be assured, if I can, then I will."

She smiled. I knew my mom would have wanted me to finish my schooling. I knew that it would make her proud. Sad, sad thoughts.

Ten minutes later, I sat in my room, folding clothes and placing them neatly in the dark blue suitcases that Bulma had provided. I was in the middle of packing the first one when Videl came in.

"You're moving?" I nodded. "Why?" She asked. And for once, I hadn't had an answer. And thankfully, at that moment, Goten pushed past her through the doorway. "Yeah. Why?" I stopped packing and pulled him to me with a smile. I messed up is hair and said in a deep voice, "To keep you safe from monsters." Irony.

He giggled and struggled to get free. And soon got past me and hid behind Videl, who placed her hand on his head.

"Well, I hope you'll come back someday." I couldn't believe that he could say that with a smile. I thought this moment would be sad, even full of tears. But it wasn't. "Sure I'm coming back. Every day."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I am such a liar, even when I don't know I'm lying.

I walked Videl back to her house. I left the suitcases at the house, and now, I was just enjoying her company. She rattled on about how the Tournament was pushed back another month. Her father had a hand in it, but told her it was to let the other fighters train a little bit more before the event began.

He could lie so well. He most probably saw her training one day and found that she was stronger than he was. Then pushed the date back to train as hard as he could. Typical, egomaniacal, cowardly thing to do.

"But hey, I've waited years for this event. What's a month?"

I agreed with her. And as we slowly made our way around the corner of a small family-owned Department Store, I noticed that it was being robbed.

I pulled her back just as I noticed it. "What are you—?

I shushed her and motioned for her to take a look. "They're being robbed. It seems that the owner was being held at gunpoint. Two robbers and one shotgun." I said taking a second look.

"Videl, I don't want you to fight with me." I said holding her shoulders. "But, I need you to go get help. This isn't an option." She opened her mouth to fight, but I shook my head. "Please, I can handle this, but I can't do this unless you go get help."

She nodded; her adrenaline intake was rising, I could see it in her jerky movements as she agreed. I watched her head down the same path that we had come from. There was a small restaurant with a cop car in the parking lot. _Smart girl…_

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Jason Daniels held his sawed off shotgun at his side. He knew that all of this would pay off in the end. Then, he and his two brothers could finally be free. Never having to struggle for something to call their own. For years they had been shunned from all Inner-Party contact, but not now. They had a bargaining chip now. And all it took was a newborn and a simple disguise.

"Hey, he's here?" Theodore Marcus Daniels called from the window. A smile slowly spread ear to ear at his own news. The youngest of the three, he was instinctively the most impatient. He was definitely jittery when his older brother, Felix, told him about the plan. So simple, yet so redundantly elaborate. His brothers always thought the plans out, and they were always elaborate and took months to think up.

"Are you serious?" Felix exclaimed from behind the counter. His job was to play the victim. That was simple enough, all he had to do was keep his hands up and look scared. _Let's just hope he's none to bright._

"You two know your parts. But I'm going to hang back a while." Jason said. He crept to the back room and left the other two nervously watching the back door. Adrenaline, the most powerful drug in the world, and it was coursing through each of their veins like liquid fire. And one thought, one hope, held the brothers in complete sync. _Soon, so very soon._

Footsteps came iridescently from behind the door to the alleyway. Then silence. Felix yelled something about having two kids and another on the way. Theo wasn't listening; instead he was sweating like a pig, awaiting the trade of his life.

And like a super hero, the door knob was ripped back, the door creaked open, but no one was there. Theo was tense. He unholstered his small PP7 with silencer attachment, and held it towards the door.

The wind picked up outside, and it was fast. Fast enough to slam the door shut. "Felix, this isn't right." Theo said, and then looked behind him at his brother. _HOW THE FUCK!_

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Felix stood stock still. I held the back of his neck. I wasn't hurting him, just scaring the crap out of him. I could feel the shivering erupting from his clenched jaw. And I could feel his brothers' scared stares. "I'm only going to ask this once. What was this _Plan_? To trick me into coming in and you ambush me? What purpose would that serve."

Theodore didn't even answer, instead, he fired seven bullets at me. I guess he forgot who was in front of me. His brother screamed at him to stop, but he kept firing. And in the midst of the noise and screaming, he hadn't noticed that the bullets weren't hitting their targets.

It wasn't until after he'd run out of bullets, that I decided to pelt them at him. "What the fuck are you!" He screamed, tripping on his shoe and falling backwards. Still he scrambled back.

Someone to my right held up a shotgun to my side. "I'm going to ask you this once. Let go of my brother. Or you'll be sorry, I can guarantee that." That's when I noticed the smell. Three werewolves… and one human, and it wasn't me.

I didn't even have to look to see who it was, and reluctantly, I let go of Felix. "Just let her go." I said. I refused to look at her state. She was definitely conscious. And he was holding his hand over her mouth, with a grip that would kill a small child. "And then what, you'll take us out. No thank you, my friend. I plan to play this thing out to the end. And if it doesn't work out the way I want, then I'll kill her."

Her silent shriek still hurt my ears.

I looked at her, then at him. He was as tall as the other two, around six feet tall. All had black hair, each at a different length. I tell you this now so that I can describe them all at once. Felix and Theodore had dark skin, Mexican descent was definite. It was Jason who, remarkably, resembled Charlie Sheen. Short black hair and brown eyed. No facial blemishes, in fact, none of us had them. Another one of the good side effects of being a monster.

Felix and Theo were probably born from a different father than Jason. They both had blue eyes, which was an almost impossible combination. Seeing as how brown or green eyes were dominant over blue, especially with a dark haired being. But then again, genetics really wasn't my major.

We were all standing, and all of them were looking at me. The youngest brother was shaking.

In a sudden flash of movement, I snatched the shotgun from Jason and twisted it until it was useless. "If you even try it, I'll tear you apart before you knew what happened. Now, let her go. Or I'll make you." I don't know if I had ever been so morbid in my life, I could feel the bloodlust build in my stomach. But I don't know what caught me off guard more. My threats, or the fact that there was no build to anger. It just clicked, this sudden, spastic, protective feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"You want her? Well, fine." I could hear the despair in his voice. And I could smell the emptiness in him. But he held onto her. "But let my brothers go first, obviously we made a mistake." I wish I could have felt compassion, but I knew something wasn't right. "All we want is territory; soon you'll realize how much that it's worth."

His brothers scrambled from the, he sighed. "I do have one message for Jerry though. Tell him that he has three days to get my brothers their own territory, and rights to start a pack. Or they'll start an army."

And he pushed her forward. But as I reached out to catch her, he pulled her back, and sunk his teeth into her. It was right then, that I realized that he wasn't getting choked up; he was changing for this one act.

I heard her scream as she beat against him, but it was I who hurled him into a split wall, snapping his top vertebrae like a twig.

And as I caught Videl, I found myself in the most troubling situation. There was going to be another on of us, and I didn't know what to do.

I didn't think to bring her to Bulma, so instead I brought her to the only place that made since...

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"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. What the fuck is that?" Dash yelled as I entered the house. Desna on the other hand screamed and came to help me lay Videl on the larger of the two couches. "Don't tell me that you did that!"

I glared at him, and shook my head. At that time, Jerry came from upstairs, and raced down the stares. "What happened?" He yelled over Videl's screaming and Dashyll's yelling.

I sped through the story as fast as I could, taking off my shirt and pressing it against Videl's neck. "Then, he bit her and I came here. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go."

"Dash, get a small bag of ice." Jerry said. He seemed at a loss, even as he sat down next to Videl, shushing her. "I'm going to die. I know it. I'm going to die." She chanted over and over, staring into space. Her eye's were dilated and blurring.

He brushed his hand against her face to get her attention. She stared into his pale blue eyes. "You're not going to die. Just relax." He rested his hand on her head. "You poor girl."

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Jerry came into the room that they'd let me stay in. It was quite large, like the master bedroom of a large house. And don't get me wrong, this wasn't just a large house; this was the biggest house I'd ever seen. Well, aside from Capsule corp., which was an institution.

I couldn't explain the grief I felt while he told me that she was infected. Her blood had in fact, been changed and was taking effect as we spoke. She'd be a hunting, killing, murderous being, and the only cure was death. I hated myself so much in those few minutes, that I could feel myself dying inside.

But that was nothing compared to what she would feel. Being of Lycan folk, bearing a child is _extremely_ rare. In fact, most of half-breed women, nine out of ten, will never have children. I shed the first tear of the horrible news, and I knew it wouldn't be the last. She would hate me, she would want revenge, and I'd let her have it. It would be my debt, having blindly led her to the terrible poison.

I wanted to die for what I had done. I lay in a steaming tub of water, the only thing keeping me warm. And I say that, because deep inside, I was cold. I was an unmended soul, and I am still an unmended soul. How could I feel grief, when she'll never truly know happiness, how could I? I am a monster for my ignorant involvement in the end of her smiles. The desolate volumes of her body and mind shall be affected in the darkest ways because of my ignorance.

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Two knocks. I said nothing. I didn't want to talk; I didn't even want to feel. I just wanted my peaceful death back. My eternal bleeding that I longed for. Two more knocks. I knew then that there would be no giving up on me from the intruder. So, I knocked twice on the wall that my head was resting against. Dashyll came in, sad looks, sad times. He sat on the porcelain toilet lid down, and rested his hands in his head. "I don't know how to tell you this…"

"I know. I figured it out." I didn't need to look at him to know what cold truths his features held. "I… need to disappear from my family. You all did, didn't you? Otherwise, you would have fucked up a normal human life, by putting it in unnecessary danger. To tell you the truth, I figured that out the day I brought her here. Funny, huh? Like opening a door and walking into a brick wall, only to find a note on the inner part of the door stating, 'This leads nowhere.'"

He didn't laugh.

"Should have said Ironic. That's all my life has been since my dad died." I lay speaking untold mysteries. "I could have saved his life, but I was too arrogant. Next in line for the slaughter was my mom." I said it with utmost self-disgust. "I could have left her, but I was too greedy. And then my brother, left alone in a forgotten memory. I hope that since he's so young, that I would be the same to him. But wouldn't that be another unmistakable case of Irony."

I started to cry, but fought the sobs. The tears still came. Never again would I bring danger to another, never. I wouldn't be able to handle it. And how I can bear it now is just a test of my mental capacity to 'ball it all up.'

"But it's not right to ball it up." He read my thoughts. I hated it that people could figure me out so easily. "You need to go see her. She's awake, and Jer's told her everything. The best you could do is apologize." But apologize for what?

A better question would be how…

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I stayed far away from her for a while. I had to stay away. Every time I got close to her, I could smell the difference. I could sense that there was no human standing near me any more, there was only a monster. The beauty had become the beautiful beast. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get her out of my head. Her scent radiating around the house. Warm and strong. I bit my inner lip and felt the skin break.

She was sitting in the living room, she stayed there. At least when no one was around, usually she would be learning more and more about our kind. I would watch from my balcony, silver railed and large enough for a table and chairs for rest and relaxation. But there would be none of that.

I'll never forget the first time I saw her change. Her fur was like snow in a barren dessert, where only the tiniest blotches of brown and gray could be seen. And I could see the moon reflecting in her eyes and exploding into the forest. Mind you that our sight, is way more detailed in the night, than in the day.

Sometimes, most of the times, she'd look up at me, and I'd look down at her. My skin burned to be around her, my mind tore at me constantly, begging me to go to her. And so here I was, nervous and focusing intently on moving closer and closer at her unmoving eyes fixed intently on the screen in front of her.

I could literally feel the discomfort she felt towards me. How unusual it must be to find that one of your friends has the ability to shape shift into the most destructive creature on the planet.

"I feel betrayed, but is that what you'd think I'd feel? Did you think that I'd _hate_ you?" She turned off the TV and looked into my guilty eyes and stood. She came up to me in such a 'Human' manner and embraced me tightly. I stood stock still. Guilt and anguish kept me from moving. "You shouldn't. It wasn't your fault." Words I thought I'd never hear. She cried into my shoulder.

I closed my arms around her and started to cry along with her. "I'm sorry." My stomach filled with so many emotions at the sound of my convicted voice, that I felt that I should be far away. Far, far away. And I panicked.

I pushed thickly, but she held me in place. "And I forgive you. Don't you forget that." That feeling to get away died away soon enough, and it was replaced by something else.

In that hour that she held me and I held her, something clicked. Something so deep, that I myself hadn't realized that it was there. Something was taken, something cold and angry, and it was torn apart. Shattered instantly. Then, when I felt completely free, I felt her lips against mine. And when we pulled apart, I couldn't help but smile. She smiled back, the tears from her eyes had fallen and dried, and I kissed her again. It was harder, fuller. Uplifting to the soul, but at the same time, satisfying to my body. I love her.

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Dashyll held all of the grocery bags while Desna retrieved the house key from a hollow brick key-holder. They had been out all day, first they when to go see a movie. As it turned out, they got there a little late, but still enjoyed it. The film was a high budget remake, "King Kong." Dashyll, who was a movie fanatic, loved it. But lately, the movies that had been making their way to the 'Big Screen' were like sand paper against his teeth. He'd occasionally rant to himself about how completely retarded this or that actor/producer/director had to have been to screw up a concept as easy as—

"… a bunch of fuckin' monsters, brainwashing people and then taking over the world. Even the Sci Fi channels come up with better scenarios than that. If they'd just stop trying to smuggle a pot head, an inter-racial couple, and crappy sex scene into every one of their movies, then maybe, just maybe, they'd get a fucking Emmy. Even Robin Williams on Demerol could come up with something better than what they had in mind for 'Alone in the Dark.' Which was a playstation game from the nineties, and still had a better concept. Why the fuck didn't they just…"

Desna looked back at him and smiled. There on the couch lay Gohan holding Videl in his arms. They lay there sleeping peacefully. "About time." Dashyll said quietly. "I thought he'd never loosen up."

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The wind picked up just as I came out the front door. There had been forecasts of a severe thunderstorm earlier tonight, and it was now turning dusk. I could tell by the deep red horizon and the darkness setting above it.

No one was home. Desna left with Videl earlier this afternoon to go shopping and whatever else. Dashyll went for a joy ride in his red sports car, to take his mind off of something that had been bothering him. I was meaning to ask him, but I didn't want to stick my nose where it doesn't belong.

Jerry, well, no one knew where Jerry went. He just up and left at around three O' clock this morning. But who am I to question or nag anyone?

I, on the other hand, just relaxed today. And that's what I had planned to do tomorrow too, with it being Sunday and all. It started raining softly and picked up rather fast. It didn't bother me though, I liked when it rained, and I often get caught up in it and forget myself sometimes.

I sat on a rather comfortable wicker chair, and I rested my feet up on the railing of the porch, then I relaxed. I crossed my arms and leant my head back and closed my eyes, then listened. And like it is with most people, the sound of rain strengthened my sense of relaxation..

And as it always is when my life seems complete, so livable, something just… happens.

I didn't sense him, I didn't smell him; he was just there, like he never was. Always away, always distant, without any moral reason, like a ghost.

"Gohan?" he asked, as he stood on the porch. He was dry, must've just teleported, and he was, I guess I could describe it as, concerned. But I wasn't paying attention to any of that at the time. At the sound of his voice, I flung myself out of my chair and almost fell backwards at the shock of him. I stared at him with disbelief, but it soon died away and was replaced with anger. And suddenly, my mind was flooded with images of him leaving time after time after time, then of my mom. I could see her as if she were right in front of me, bloodstained and gasping for air, clinging to her wounds as if they burned. And as these memories flashed before me, one thought raged in my mind. "Why? Why are you here!" I practically shouted it from my thoughts.

He seemed hurt, but only for a second, and then he smiled. It would have warmed anyone else's heart, but not mine. Everything bad that ever happened to me was because He wasn't there. "What? I thought you'd be glad to see me." He smiled and started towards me. I couldn't help but back myself away. And I knew it hurt him, but he didn't know what hurting was, not yet.

"I know what happened. Bulma told me when I asked where you were and I know that Dendai could fix this or..." He knew I wasn't listening; my expression hadn't changed since he came back. "What's wrong? Don't you want to come back home?" Then he did something that I hated more than anything else. "We're not dead anymore, Gohan." He pulled the thought from my mind. "I'm here."

Fury, rage, you could even call it mental pandemonium, but what ever it was, it was clawing at my chest, tearing right through me. "You're here?" I whispered, the hatred and loneliness blended into madness. "You're here. But you _weren't_ when you should have been. You were NEVER around when I needed you most. Your weren't around when I was attacked. You weren't even around when I KILLED MY OWN GODDAMN MOTHER!" he reacted exactly as I thought he would, in remorse.

"Before that," I calmed down a bit and took an unobtrusive breath, "I sat in my room. I though of how I had ripped away your youngest son from his own father. My thoughts ran right on the edge of suicidal, and it was all for you, rather, because of you. But I bet you never thought to look down from where you were and keep an eye on your lonely children, you miserable wife, who cried night after night after night, plaguing me with nightmares concerning the death of my dad. I'd bet my life that you have never felt anything near what I felt those cold nights."

He was finally listening. I couldn't have asked for anything other than that. "You died. You're dead. So leave." He didn't, must've not been listening.

"You don't understand," He was getting desperate. "You have no idea what this would mean to your mother… to Goten." My stomach twisted into a knot. I unknowingly clenched my fist and tightened my jaw as hard as I could bear. "They want you home."

He was now two feet in front of me. His hands were raised as if in a plea, but when he began, I punched him as hard as I possibly could. He was shot right through the railing and skidded right into the mud. "DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE START ON GOTEN!" I screamed as he stood. Blood ran from his nose, and I felt a slight satisfaction. He got up on his feet in the rain. He was going to plead again. "LEAVE! LEAVE NOW OR I'LL KILL YOU! And this time I won't regret it." Those last words were calm and utterly emotionless.

I could feel the pain emanating from him, but because of the rain, I didn't get to see him cry before he disappeared.

As soon as he left, I fell to my knee's and started balling with tears. "You bastard." I cried through strained gasps. I felt as if I'd killed a small part of my being as I wrapped my arms around my legs and buried my head in my knees. Then something that had never happened before washed over me.

My body felt relaxed and cooled; the hard wood porch felt like nothing under my changing flesh. And as it happened, I felt no pain, no stress, only comfort. And that's when I realized that my other half was comforting me.

I didn't change completely, but my skin was black and my claws were halfway protruding through my fingertips and also through my toes. I continued to cry, and cry, and cry, until I fell asleep, choking and gasping for air. _Just sleep._

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I dreamt, and I dreamt and I slept, and I dreamt some more. I dreamt of a barren land, void of any life what so ever. And in this dream, it started to rain. The rain was all a deep shade of violet. The rust colored dirt became green with grass, and trees sprang from the earth, towering into the sky. Flowers were scattered around this Eden and the wind blew continuously, animating the seemingly perfect utopia.

And walking in this meadow was I and another, hand in hand. A small child of myself looked directly into my eyes and frowned a little, "You know I have to leave now right?" He asked. I smiled down at him as we walked past some beautiful oak trees. "But you'll never be forgotten." I said watching him grin back at me. He laughed a little and then looked out towards the void appearing in this perfection.

And as he left my side and walked away, I felt myself becoming free. Free of my hatred, my anger. I felt elevated, detached from my detachment, so to speak. And it was a wonderful feeling. And then I awoke…

"Hey." I said hoarsely to Videl, who was sitting next to me as I lay on my bed. She smiled. "Hey…" She was so happy. I could tell from her scent that something was different. It was stronger, warmer. "I'm pregnant." She whispered.

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Nails and wood were gathered at the edge of the porch. I was repairing the railing that I'd broken the night before, even though Jerry told me not to worry about it. "So uh… do you think I'll be a good father?" I asked as I was handed another nail.

He took a sip of his cold beer he had brought out with him and readied another nail. "Yeah man, I mean, all you have to do is keep the kid alive… right?" I couldn't believe his answer. But then I felt relief when he started to laugh. "Don't worry; you'll probably make a great father."

I hammered in the first of the three boards I'd broken, and I was now readying the second. "You can't be worst than my dad, or my mom." I grabbed another nail from him. "How so?" I asked.

"Well," He took another sip and continued, "My parents got a divorce when I was little, and they had this huge custody battle over me." I took a small break and sat down on the nearest step. "No kidding?" He shook his head.

"My mom won, she made me live with dad." I choked on my small sip of water, and then recovered, laughing. "You've got to be kidding me." He shook his head again. "She was a mental patient. And while I was in kindergarten gluing macaroni to paper plates, it warmed my heart to know that my mom was gluing macaroni to paper plates."

"But my dad was a big drunk; he never laid a hand on me, though he did like to kill my confidence and self-esteem. He'd always tell me to toughen up, don't be a wussy, and he literally drove me to drink. I was… about fourteen."

"And by the time I was seventeen, I stopped drinking. Because I fell into a bon fire." Laughter spread among us once again. "Yeah, almost burning to death is a one step program. You don't need AA after something like that."

"And we were burning a telephone pole on the beach, I still can't figure out where we got it, but I'm sure it's up there in the drunk/theft scale."

"But that was the night that I'd gotten attacked. I was sleeping in my friends' car when people started screaming. I was too drunk to react and soon, I was in a speeding car filled with people crammed on top of me. And this was no spacious car, it was a 1987 Oldsmobile. But soon after we took off, we wrecked and almost all of my friends were killed. All accept my best friend Michael. No he was attacked and torn in half by that bastard Diego. You may not know this, but those mutts that attacked you and Videl, Diego, and Jerry, are all brothers. All from the same father, different mothers."

I'd forgotten all about them. "Are you serious?" He nodded. "That's why they wanted Jerry to know their demands." Well there goes a forgotten mystery. "Jerry took care of them the night after they attacked you two."

I started to wonder why Jerry never told us. "He told Videl because she was the victim. I guess that he thought it wouldn't matter too you what he did to them." And that's another mystery I'd want unraveled.

"What did he do to them?" I couldn't help but ask.

"He gave them their territory. But the punishment was that the surrounding area is Pack territory. Which means once they leave theirs," He snapped his fingers, "they're dead." Quite ironic that they'd have what they always wanted, and only that.

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I couldn't really grasp hold to the fact that I was going to be a father, and I'd soon forgotten the conversation I had with Dash. But I felt so empty, and I couldn't figure it out. Why wasn't I worrying about it? A better question would be, why am I worrying about not worrying about being a father? Thoughts like these rattled my mind for the longest time before I realized how far I was.

I kept to myself as I walked by pedestrian after pedestrian. I couldn't shake the fact that I wasn't really worrying about it. I was faking it really well, but it was all just a waste of time. I was about to pass in front of the school, but I stopped myself.

_Don't. Don't. Don't._ It was my other half speaking to me. And the only way to control it was to give in a couple of times. So I did. I turned and went in the opposite direction. _Don't. Don't._ "Don't what?" Some people turned and looked to see who I was talking to, but they soon walked away.

I started in the only other direction that didn't involve going back home. _Don't. Don't. Stop. Wait. _Now I was definitely confused. And soon, I found that the street had become clear of all life.

_Wait for what?_ I hadn't a clue what was going on, until I saw Him. There was a little boy, and he was following right behind his mother. The mom had long red hair and when she stopped, she stared at me with the kindest gray eyes I'd ever seen. Her entire being was perfect, to say the least. And her face held that of a model, thin and as perfect as it could be.

The little boy stopped also, he looked up at his mom and then directly at me. And then it hit me. It wasn't a scent, it wasn't the perfected features, it was her smile. It told me everything I had to know. More werewolves. _Why are they all coming around here!_

Jerry told me that there were only around two hundred of us on earth. We tried our hardest to keep it at that number so we wouldn't pose a threat to humanity. But here, I have seen nine werewolves. But it didn't end there.

Soon, other people came near, scattered but still near, and they stopped and stared at one another. A business man type with his spotless brown suit and tie. Another woman, accompanied by her mate and child. Two more men came opposite of each other. And more and more gathered.

I could feel a panic building and it didn't go away. "You're the one who will father that child?" The grey eyed woman said. She held her child's hand and frowned. "But who will take her place in death?"

"What!" There had been no mention of this to me. I had no idea what she was talking about. My mind was working furiously for any logic that she had unknowingly displayed. And it found none.

"One of our kind was killed when you were made, when you mate was made, but not when you made this child. And so there will be no child."

"What are you talking about?" I could feel a sudden burst of rage fill my chest as I asked. She smiled, but it was a sad smile. "What are you all doing here?"

"Your pack leader had done a terrible thing. He's taken in two more, without even telling the others. But it was only a matter of time before we found out." I could see that the others were still gathering, and surrounding me. "But to come here, and find that the two he has taken in will bear a child… that is a crime against us all. So we are here to put a stop to it."

I ground my teeth before I said something I'd regret. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself. "You're going to… kill them?" I asked.

A couple of them laughed, but she kept her sad but maddening expression. "No." I felt myself relax a little. Right before, "Just You, your Mate, your Child, and your Alpha."

They rushed me. All of them closed in on me, and there was only one way out, up. I flew up just a couple of feet. Gasps were heard, and threats and curses raged from their mouths. "GET HIM!" She screamed as I flew away.

I shot off towards the house as fast as I could. The wind felt like it was closing in on me and I could barely breathe. And as soon as I was over the house. I fell to the ground and raced into the house.

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"What's wrong?" Desna asked as I shot through the house like a madman.

I sputtered out everything that happened as I rushed around the house looking for the others. "JERRY!" I screamed only to hear nothingness. "FUCK! WHERE ARE YOU!" I screamed.

"They're all gone."

I then felt a cold metal object poke me in the back. "I'm sorry Gohan. But they said they'd kill Dashyll... if I didn't kill you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I couldn't grasp hold to reality at that point, I could only feel remorse, but other emotions snaked into me as well.

Sadness and betrayal filled me to the brim during this one act of betrayal. And then she shot me. Once. Twice. Three times. She hadn't even that the bullets weren't hitting their targets. She held her eyes shut as she shot me once again. She was crying profusely.

But instead of anger, pity spread itself across my face. I slowly grasped the gun from her hand and she looked up at me catching her breath and holding her hand against her mouth, as not to scream. "I'm not like you or anyone else. And I hate myself for letting you find out this way, but you left me no choice. And I can only tell you that I'm sorry that it had to be this way." A definite feeling of forgiveness found its way into my mind, and through me, to her.

I crushed the gun, and handed it to her. "Where are they?"

She stammered at first trying to find the words, but eventually got back on track.

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I stood in front of my miserable memory. My dark palace in the woods, my old home. I slowly made my way to the front door and knocked twice. My mother answered and started to cry when I held her. "I'm sorry. But I need your help." I said cutting her off. You and…" I looked behind her at my father, "Dad."

Desna was right behind me, she'd told us all everything. And to my satisfaction, they weren't going to kill them until they knew I was dead or captured.

We all were sitting in the small kitchen at the fairly large table. "All I need you to do is keep the others away. This is my problem, and I'll deal with it. Keep Goten and Desna safe while I'm gone. This is all I ask of you." I said. And that was all I said.

My father eyed me suspiciously. "What do you plan to do?" He asked. I shrugged and let it fall, "Kill them." It was the best way I could put it. There was no way around this malevolent act of violence, so it left the only gruesome reasoning I could muster.

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There were two keeping guard at the front of the house, and a group of ten out in the woods nearby. Good thing I was down wind. And the rest were inside awaiting news of my captivity and/or death, news that they wouldn't be receiving.

I felt rage and anger build like it has never had before. And in that rage, came the grueling desire to kill. It was strange at first. Only a small portion of my mind wanted that satisfaction, but then it spread like wild fire, igniting every horrible feeling in my being and turning it into detesting hatred towards my enemies, but then came a passion. A sort of passion for my hunting. I loved the thought of wanting to kill. It was exhilarating and then… it was reality.

I didn't even change; I just flew through the group, snapping necks other assorted skeletal features. All until they were nothing but a pile of corpses. I grabbed the two that had been killed instantly and with the least amount of damage. A built man with dark red hair, maybe in his fifties, and a smaller teenager just like him. Instant thoughts of my father and Goten.

I watched the two guards at the door and chucked the dead bodies right in front of them. I needed them to scream. And as they commenced with panic, I raced up to them and smashed their heads together, quite brutally. Then I jumped up onto the roof and waited for the group of responders. I thought this plan out before coming here, and so far everything was going perfectly.

Growling came from behind me, and as I looked back, a beast of dark fur like mine dove towards me. I dropped down on my back and kicked it in the stomach, sending it spiraling to the ground. Close call.

But another followed and brought me down. And instantly it started its pathetic onslaught, but I grabbed it by the neck and threw it off. I transpired some energy into my fists and started my own onslaught.

Every punch seared through the creatures skin, and soon it was dead. But the black one was still alive, but barely. Its legs were broken, save the front two. I walked over quickly and kicked it in the neck. A sickening crack followed. The other one was dead. And it seemed a shame something so beautiful and unknown should have died like this.

And soon, it was quiet.

"I guess I should go inside." I whispered to myself. There was nothing left out hear except the stench and site of death. And surely they'd caught on to my plan to lure as many out as I could and kill them one by one. So I snuck inside. The house was nothing short of decrepit. And soon I found out, that this was no house.

After I freed myself from the hallway, I noticed something peculiar. There was no furniture, no knick knacks, no pictures or hangings, the walls consisted of regular degrading wood, and in the middle of this giant room was a trap door with a stairway.

The smells of the others came up from that door, so I went in without a second though.

As soon as I entered, the trap door closed. No big deal, I just wanted to make sure the others were all right. So I snaked my way through the corridor I'd found myself in; concrete walls surrounded me with lit torches hanging from them. I walked at first, then started hearing voices, and then I started running.

I was stopped to find that there was an underground arena in this place! It wasn't big, only about a couple hundred square feet, but it was here where I found them. The room itself was empty except for the four of us. They were tied up with a thick rope that I instantly began untying.

Clap. Clap. Clap. I turned to see her standing there. Her small child steadily by her side. "It seems that you made it. Now we can begin." Then there was thunder.

The walls began to open, hidden doors revealing werewolves already turned. "So if you have any last wishes." She was mocking me all the way down to her smile. And as I hated her entire being, I started to think.

"Let me show you something. A magic trick of sorts."

She seemed interested, and so I began. I raised my hands and felt a small bit of energy touching my finger tips; I pulled on it and let it hover in a soft blue light. She gasped at how bright it was and snarled at me, turning angry. "What are you doing?" She yelled, I could sense her tension.

I had no intention of telling her, but rather, showing her. So, I shot it at one of the werewolves closest to her. I burned and screamed horrifically, and almost instantly. The others were about to attack, when she held up her hand.

"Smart girl." I said, and then I made one twenty times bigger. "Now, give us passage out of here, or we all go up in flames." I could tell that the others' were thinking about it. They weren't about to give their lives just to kill. They weren't that stupid, so they backed off. But she remained. "You'll have to get past me then." She turned and walked towards the exit, glaring at the others. I caught a last thought from her mind as she left. _Cowards._ But I knew that when she left, she wasn't _leaving._ No… I knew where this was going.

I grabbed the untied the three behind me and then they started with question after question, but I wouldn't answer them. I couldn't, not yet. Instead, I grabbed Videl and looked her right in the eyes. "Don't worry about me. Once you're of this house, all of you run." They didn't argue. Whether it was in fear or safety, I was just so glad for their cooperation.

We made our way outside, but the entire place was surrounded. There was no way they were going to be able to escape. And that dreadful woman was laughing at the sight of my despair. "I know exactly what you're thinking. And I won't be so stupid to give you the chance to annihilate us all. So I will make a deal with you, one on one."

I crossed my arms. "And what would this deal be, exactly?"

She smiled. "If you can kill me, then you all can leave. Simple as that. But if you don't, you die and then they all die."

There was no way I was going to turn down this challenge. But Jerry pulled my arm as I walked towards her. "Stop. You won't win this fight. I'm sorry to tell you this at such a time, but Andrea is the oldest and strongest of our kind."

I didn't listen; instead, I jerked my arm away from him and felt myself turning towards him fully. "Jerry, I'm only going to say this once." I said it gently, not wanting to scare, or send the thought that I was threatening him, "I'm not like you, or any other being here. I'm sorry that you'll have to see what I mean." And I left him confused.

I was about to attack, but it was she who made the first move, she changed. So that's how we were going to play. I followed her example.

She was a gorgeous gray color, but I didn't have time to speculate.

We circled each other for a minute or two, and then I attacked. She dodged me and brought a brutal kick to my head. It was lightning fast, and I definitely wasn't expecting her to be that strong. But her true strength came when _she_ attacked me.

She was right in my face, and then she was gouging her clawed fist into my chest. I roared in pain. She was so fast, and ruthless. _It seems that, you lose._ Those words buried themselves in my mind. _You pathetic, worthless child. You've lost not only your life, but the ones of those closest to you._

She kicked me in the stomach and her hand slid painfully out of me. There were cheers coming from those who weren't changed. I tried to stand but I couldn't muster the strength. _Stop it. Stop it! STOP IT!_

She turned away from me and walked slowly to the ones I loved. The ones who'd made my life worth living, those who'd saved me. All lost…

But something happened inside my mind as she gripped Videl. Something snapped in me and swooned over my conscious, everything started to come back to me. My sight, my feeling, and my strength. I dug my claws into the ground and roared as loud as I could. And when she turned, I saw my golden reflection in her mind.

I could feel my body start to revert to its more natural form, but my skin was still tough and black, my hands and feet were clawed, and I stared at her with cold, green eyes hidden behind a veil of golden locks. But what shocked me the most, was how sunken my body had become. Like a wraith, I stood scowling and feeding off of the fear around me.

There were gasps and sputtered curses. "Monster. MONSTER!" someone to my left yelled. I could barely hear him through the blood pumping past my ears. And in cold blood, I killed him, but to those around him, he merely crumpled to the ground. I had almost no control in that instant of feeding on their fear. I could even taste it in the air as I took in a slow breath.

She let go of Videl and turned towards me, snarling. _Good. _I clenched my fists as I pulled as much power as I could from my emotions. The ground shook and crumbled at my feet. And then I stopped and looked directly into her black eyes. "Come get me you Bitch!"

She dashed at me, but she was slow. I gripped her arms and felt her pathetic struggles, as she tried to kick at me, but I stomped on her right leg smashing it. And then I put as much power into my hands and poured it into her, burning her from the inside.

I could smell the decay in radiating off of her and into the night air; it was lovely and disgusting at the same time. Her small child screamed at me to stop, and so I did. But when I let go, she was a burnt, bloody mess.

"Come on, were leaving." I said not looking at them. I felt so unnatural. I also didn't hear any footsteps behind me. They weren't letting them go. I projected every brutal image I could right into their minds. They then saw the severity of my patience, and it was thin.

The ones surrounding them seemed to back off and then disappear among the others in their group.

Once they were released, the others reluctantly made their way towards me, wondering if it was safe or not. It was, but I didn't let the others see it. And soon, we were wandering back to my father's, I was very quiet.

I knew what was on all of their minds, that I had lost mine, that I was an unnatural creature, a demon. "I'm sorry you had to see that." I said. They were all a little ways back; I didn't want to look at their faces.

I felt so dangerous that, "I think I should probably stay away, go live somewhere else." I was still in the form I was in when we left, I couldn't get out of it, I couldn't calm down enough to change back. "I just want you to be safe." I turned back to them.

It was Videl who walked up to me. And instead of fear, there was a small smile. She kissed me softly and then pulled away. "No, you're coming home with us, right after we get Desna."

I stared into her eyes and smiled back. "I love you." I did. And there was no reason not to tell her. "I love you too." She kissed me again and I could feel the stress on my body die away. I was going home. Home sweet home.


End file.
